Engine.



unirsi) sra'rns Parleur orrron.

ULYSSES E. l'ifCl'IJViICK,l OF OMHA, NEBRASKA.

ENGINE.

Lemaire.

' Specification of 'Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18V,

Application filed March 9, 1912. Serial No. 682,735.

To all lwhom, t muy cof/cera f 1t known that I, ULrssEs E. LUDwIon,

.a citizen of the United States, residing at Omaha, in the countyl of. Douglas and State of hebraslia, have invented certa-1n new and useful lmprovementsin Engines, of 'which the force of steam'. or similar expansion ele? the following is specification.

This invention relates to improvements in engines, and While the construction could be employed to advantage in connection with nient, motive power, it is illustrated and described herein as a gasolene engine, and

has for its object to provide a construction whereby the pistons Within the `cylinders may be reciprocated simultaueously by a single impulse oi the expansive force employed, said Yeroe being delivered in alternation at o.u upon the opposite ends of the pistons, thereby producing a required operation by use of a less number of parts than ordinary.

The invention consists ofthe novel construction, combination and arrangement ot' parts as described herein and claimed and as illustrated in the drawing, 'it being understood that changes in form, size., proportion and minor details may be made Within the scope of the claims Without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

' ln the drawing, Figure 1 is a plan view of the engine. Fig. 2 is a detaihin section', of the check valve. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the engine, parts of the cylinders and frame being broken away. Fig. ais ay vertical section on linea c of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 yis a view in longitudinal section through the frame, rotatable disk and cylinders, as on llfle o b ot Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a view showing the inner sideof one of the housingplates.4

Y Fig. 7 is a side vieW of the disk. Fig'. 8 is 'a partly broken, edgewisevievv of the disk.

'cally opposite sidesof the circular Prod 8 connect-s eachpiston with one of cranks 3.

Alt 9 and 10 are' indicated housing plates, each being formed with a depressed middle part or circular'r-ecess 11, the flat, vertical Wall of each recess being provided with a central aperture 12. The housing plates are adapted to be disposed in contact, side-byside, between the cylinders, their recesses 11 forming a circular chamber 13 (Fig. 4); and they may be provided with curved arms 14 for engaging the Walls of the cylinders, the arms being secured together by keepers 15."

At 16- is indicated a casting, cylindrical valve member, or disk provided upon its opposite sides at its middle with projections, bosses or trunnions 17 (Fig. 8). is adapted to have a seatinv chamber 13, its bosses 17 'having bearings in apertures 12 of the housing plates. `Each of the bosses 17 is provided with an aperture 18 (Figsd, 7 and 8), ,said aperture `also extending through the middle of the disk..

The disk is also formed with a straight pas` sagevvay 19 extending radially therethrough, and 1n communication With aperture 18, and said passageway 19 provides an explosion chamber with tvvo discharge-ports 20 and f 21 diametrically opposite to each other open.

ing upon the periphery of the diskj Passageways 22and 23 are'fformedifbeftween the housing plates. These passage# Ways'communicate With and at d1 ber 13, andfvvith the respective upp lower ends of the cylinders. Said pas b Ways maybe formed as grooves in thernne `sides of the housing plates, yand Whenth 7 plates are secured side-by-side the groove,

'Will register with each other in a manner'` tov form the 4complete passageways, the

The diskI 4 in the circulary y L housing plates being secured 'together'andV in contact by keepers 24.

The disk is provided with exhaust or. dis- I charge passageways 25 and. 26, each having a port .27 and alsecondtport 28 opening upon the peri hery of the sk, substantially 6() de rees igrom a port 2O or 'a port 21 thereof.'-

` ischarge pipes 29 are provided; they are; I

mounted upon and extend outwardly from the side of the housing p late 10 (Fig.21)`,

and as plainly shown in Fig. 6 apertures 30.

are 'formed in the Wall of housing plate 10 -igna-ted as intermediate grooves; since they.

to communie teg-withl these discharge pipes, also by refer nce to Figs. 5 and 6 it will be seen that comparativelyshort grooves 31 are formed in each housing plate tb 'communi-V cate with the apertures cular chamber 13.

Grooves 31, for convenience, may be desare each disposedbetween passageways 22 and 23 at points substantially G OJdegrees from said passageways; and'whenthe housmg plates are secured togetheras abovementioned, each pair of grooves 31 will register with eachother to form' comparatively short passageways opening upon chamber 13 at points dia-metrically opposite to each other, and communicating with discharge pipes 29.

, Passageways 22 and 23 are alikev in form and all ofthe functions discharged by one are discharged bythe other. Passageways 22 may be designated as forward port-sand @passageways '23 the rearward ports of. the y cylin ers. Passageways 22 provide exhaust 5EA the disk, the means herein shown-being the ving to the upper end of cylinder 5, and with the p'assageway23 leading to the lower end of cylinder 6,- and at this time if gas be exploded within chamber 19, pistons 7 may be moved toward the ends of the eylinders'opposite to the ends'` which they occupied, to cause one-half of a complete rotation of the engine shaft.

At 32, mounted in aperture 18 Aof the disk, is indicated a spark-plug for` causing .intermittent dischargesv of fuel gas.

The gas, under pressure, may pass within aperture 18 and chamber 19 from feed pipe 33 (Figs. 1. 4.) by first passing through checkvalve 34, said valve preventing areturn or outward movement of the charges of gas after passing within said chamber 19.

-Any suitable means may be provided to cause a reciprocatory rotative movement of rod` 35. The upper endof this rod is ivotally mounted upon the pivot-pin 36 Figs.`

7, 8.) which projects transversely from one of the sides of the disk near one of bosses 17 said pin traversing th slot 37` ,formed in housing-plate 10.4 The wer end of rod`35 is ivotally vmounted upon rock lever- 38,

sai lever having a pivotal mounting at T39 upon the supporting-plate or bracket 40 'se- 30 and with the cir'- cured t'o this piston-rod, the guide of the piston-rod being indicated at 48. Coiled springs 49 and 50 of equal length may be employed and mounted upon said piston-y rod, spring 49 being disposed between and bearing upon ycollar 447 and contact-ring 41,'

and'spring 50 being disposed betweenv andA bearing uponcontact-ring'42 and guide f48.'

The partsfare so'arranged that whenthe' i piston within cylinder' 5 has moved/'np2 Wardly a part/ofits stro-ke,thefreeendofv lever 38 willgbeen aged by contact-ring@ and the freelextdvo said' leverwill be ,mo/'ved upwardly tgil'pairserod 35 to.' pass Adownwardly, sai 35 `causing a part rotation of the disk, this rotative movement Springs49 and 50 are constructed of such a strength-that they will not be compressed by the contact of rings 41 and 42 with the free end of the rock-lever to eifect said rotative movement of the disk 60 degrees. At the time of the downward movement of rod 35, pin 36, of course, will move downand this slot is of a suitable length to pre.

vent the disk from rotating in an arc of more than 60 degrees. ments of the piston within cylinder 5, contactrings,41 and 42 will be engaged, in a1- ternation, by the free endl of the rock-lever. 'The disk will belmoved in an arc of 60 degrees at each-movement of the piston, and 105 of lever 38 has engaged these respective 110 contact-rings and only afterthe disk has been moved;.xand the completion of ,t( strokes of the cylinders, after contact-rings=4 41 and 42vhave been engaged by the free end of the rock-lever, causes the fuel gas within the cylinders to be compressed, these intermittent compressions of the gas oceurring limmediately before the charges are exploded.

. In order that it may be clearly understood that the movable disk provides 'exit ways for the escape of decomposed fuel gas .from the cylinders, and 'provides intakes for the charges, of fuel gas, so that the force of the explosionsmay be directed, in alternation. at both ends of the pistons, operationof these parts will noW'be described'.

During the intervals between its 'rotative movements .of 60 degrees above 4mentioned, the disk will remain in a condition of rest,

downward movement of -rod being 60 degrees.`

During the move- Cil pawls or lugs adapted to bear frictionallyiupon the surface of block 43 by reason of springs 45, the pressure or force of said springs 45 being suiicientv to prevent any -movementof rod 35 except when contactrings 41 or 42.move into engagement with lever 38.

In operation, gas under pressure will overcome the force of spring 46 of valve 34 (Fig. 2), and this spring being compressed, the gas will enter aperture 18 and passageway or explosion chamber 19. 'lVhen-in't position of rest, the ports and 21 art` always in communication with a passageway 22 and 23 diametrically opposite to each other and which lead to the lower end ot one and the upper end of the other cylinder. Assuming. the parts to be in the rela tive positions shown 1n Fig. 3, the gas when exploded would cause a simultaneous movement of the pistons' to cause one-half of a revolution of the .engine shaft, the piston of cylinder 5 l'moving upwardly, the piston of ,cylinder 6 moving downwardly, the ports 20 and 2l of chamber 19, at the time of the explosion, being in communication, respectively, with the upper passageway 22 which communicates with the upper end of cylinder 6, vand with the lower passageway- Q3 which communicates with the lower end of cylinder 5. During the simultaneous movement of the pistons last described it will be understood that the disk'will remain in 0 a position of rest until the piston within cylinder lhas completed a part of its upward or forward movement within said cylinder, and therefore, during. a partof this movement of said gisten, any foul air within said cylinder 5 w l be forced out through theA passageway 2 which communicates therewith, and thefoul air will pass through passageway 26 of the disk, since port 2T oi.: passageway 26'will be in communication with the passageway 22 of 4said cylinder 5. Likewise, during this increment of the pis-- tons, the foul air within cylinder G will be forced out through passageway 23 at the rear partof this cylinder, and will pass through passageway Q5 of the disk, since port 28 of passageway 25 will be inmemmunication with said passageway 23 of' cylinder 6 and with passageway 3l adjacent to cylindery l5. Passageways 25 and S26 of the disk therefore operate as channels through which the exhausted fuel gas may escape from the cylinders, and from passageways QQ. .and Q3.

In operation, when the pistons within cyl- 35 inders 5 and 6 arrive near tothe-ends of -19 to cause t e pistons to move to the posisaid cylinders as shown in Fig. 5, the foul air or the greater part of it will hav'elpassed out'of the discharge lpipes 29; and at this time, the strokes of the pistons being complete, t-he ex losion occurs within chamber tions shown in Fig. 3; and the adjustment of parts is such that when the rearward A4movement oflthe piston within cylinder 5 `has been partly. completed, rod 35, before spring 49 has jbeen compressed, will be 75' moved upwardly or forwardly to the position shownin Fig. 3, .the disk being partly rotated and disposed lin the position shown in Fig. 3; and the disk will thereafter remain in the position shown in Fig. 3 until the contact-ring 42. has been engaged by the free end of the rock-lever. "The disk is therefore' disposed stationary while the pistonsare moving, except at the instant when "one of the contact-rings engage the rock-lever. and the foul air may escape from the cylinders while the diskfis stationary;

and on account of the construction, thc

charges ci' explosions are delivered in alter-- nation within the cylinders upon opposite ends of the pist-on, the movements of the piston being simultaneous to cause, at each of said movements, one-half of a rotatable movement' of the engine shaft. As thus described, passageways 2O and Q3 may be considered Yintakesor exit ways for the cylinders, according to the direction of movement of the pistons therebetween. When chamber 19 is in communication with one 100 of passageways 22 and 23, the .other pas sageways 22 and 23,-of course, operate as exit ways for the exhaust or passage of foul air from the cylinders. 'Y Having fully described the several parts and their uses, a furtherl explanation relatv ing to operation is not necessary. That I `claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-

l. An engine, comprising, in combination with a pair of cylinders each having a port at each/of its terminals, and a piston-disposed between said ports; a member having an explosion chamber and a pair of discharge passages, said member being movable to dispose its .explosion chamber i'n communication with one of the terminal .ports of each eylinder, its discharge passages communicating with the other terminal ports of the cylinders.

2. An engine, comprising, in combination with a pair of cylinders cach liaving a port at each of its terminals, and a .pist-on disposed between said ports; a disk` having an explosion, chamber opening at diametrically opposite parts ot its peripl'ieiy and pro vided with a pair of discharge passages,

'said disk being movable toV dispose its eX- discharge passages communicating with the other terminal ports of the cylinders.

3. An engine comprising, in combination with a pair of cylinders cach having a port. ateach of its terminals, and a piston disposed between said ports; a member having an explosion chamber and a pair of discharge passages, said memberbeing movable to dispose its explosion chamber in communication, in alternation, withv the terminal ports of the cylinders, its discharge passages communicating, in alternation, with the terminal ports of one of said cylinders.

4. An engine, comprising, in combination with a pair of cylinders each having a port at each of its terminals, and a piston disposed between said ports; a disk haring an explosion chamber opening at diametrically opposite parts of itsperiphery and provided with a pair of discharge passages, said disk being movable'to dispose its explosion chamber in communication, in alternation, with the terminal ports of the cylinders, each of its discharge passages commimica-ting, in alternation, With the termi- L nal ports of one of said cylinders.

5.l An engine, comprising, in combination with a pair of cylinders each having a portat each of its terminals, and a ypiston disposed between said ports; a disk having an .y explosion chamber with ports'opening opposite to each other upon its periphery,

and having passageszwith ports opening upon its periphery intermediate the ports of the explosion chamber; said disk being adapted to have a reciprocatory rotative movement in an are of substantially sixty degrees to dispose the ports of its eX- plosion chamber in communication, in alternation, with the terminal ports of the cylinders, each of the ports of its discharge passages communicating, in a1ternation',with the terminal ports of one of said cylinders.

6. An engine, comprising', in combination with a pair of cylinders, each having a port at `each of its terminals' and 4a piston disposedbetween said ports; a pivotally mounted disk having 'an explosion chamber and a pair of discharge passages, said disk being movable to dispose its explosion chamber in communication with one of the terminal ports of each cylinder to cause a simultaneous longitudinal movement of the pistons,

the operation being that the disk will remain in a position of rest with its discharge passages 1n communication with one of the terminal ports of each cyllnder until the pistons have completed a partof their longitudinal movements.

In testimony whereof I have affixed lmy signature 1n presence of two witnesses.

ULYSSES E. LUDWICK.

Witnesses:

HIRAM A. STURGEs, A. F. CLARK. 

